Top Ten Tuesday – Best and Worst Fictional Fathers

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday. This is a weekly challenge hosted by The Brooke and the Bookish. This week’s challenge is a freebie for Father’s Day. If you want to participate in this weekly meme, be sure to go check out Brooke’s blog!

I thought about this for a few days on how I wanted to do this Top Ten Tuesday challenge. I read a lot of fantasy and those books don’t highlight good or present fathers (or parents) that often. I couldn’t decide on whether I wanted to highlight best or worst fathers, so let’s do a mix! Top 5 Best Father Figures and Top 5 Worst Father Figures. Here goes!

TOP 5 Best Father Figures

Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Yes, I know Giles is not from a novel and not anyone’s biological father but, as we all know, DNA isn’t what truly matters. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my all-time favorite show and Giles is a pretty badass character and father figure. Buffy’s own father bailed on her and even though Giles started off as “just” her watcher – it wasn’t long before their relationship turned into more of a father/daughter one. He really looks out for all the “scooby gang,” and would literally die for any of them – and almost has on many occasions.

Big Mav from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomson

Big Mav isn’t a flawless character. His experiences have given him cause to have particular biases but you can’t really hold it against him when you see what he has been through and had to endure. However, he is still a fantastic father – he is fair and kind and cares deeply for his family and his community. He is not only a wonderful father to his daughter Starr but he is also a great father figure to troubled young men in his community. He gives them opportunities and jobs when others might have turned them away. What’s not to love about Big Mav!

Mr. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Is Mr. Bennett a great husband? Nope, not really but this isn’t about this – this is about his relationship with his daughters. Yes, this book is from a different era and that has to be kept in mind – but even though Mr. Bennett wants what all parents do during the time – for his daughters to find a good match for themselves – he isn’t willing to force them against their own happiness. He defends Lizzie to his wife constantly, especially when it comes to the terrible Mr. Collins!

Arthur Weasley from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Obviously, I couldn’t forget about Mr. Weasley. Ron ended up with probably the best parents in that whole series. Arthur always stood up for his children and did what he thought was right and just. He instilled good morals in all of his children. He also treated Harry as one of his own after a bit as well.

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Atticus is another fantastic father figure. No, he wasn’t perfect – yes he still had bias but he was willing to go against what society thought he should be doing when he felt something was right and just. He instilled those morals with his daughter “Scout.” He also was there for her as often as he could be and always willing to answer her questions, even when they were tough ones.

Top Five Worst Father Figures

Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

What would this list be without Lucius? Poor Draco – getting this sorry excuse for a father. I’m sure Draco would’ve turned out much better without the pressure from his domineering father. Lucius doesn’t really have any kind or honest qualities – he’s just a bad person and a bad father.

Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones (television version)

I haven’t read the A Song of Ice and Fire series so I’m going to be going strictly on the television show here. Not really sure what there is to say about this man. He’s just a horrible human being – he isn’t a man you’d want to cross paths with in your lifetime – that is for sure. Just look at his children – they all turned out to be a giant mess and have beyond questionable morals. Even the beloved Tyrion Lannister is a complete disaster most of the time – all he ever wanted was his father’s approval – unfortunately that was never going to be in the cards.

Buffy’s Father from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

If Giles was in the best, than Buffy’s father had to be in the worst. Is he in the same league as Tywin and Lucius? No, but he’s certainly a much more relatable and authentic portrayal of a poor father figure. This one will sadly hit home for many – as Buffy’s father just walked away from his family and never really looked back. Thankfully, Giles was there to pick up his slack.

Mr. Wormwood from Matilda by Roald Dahl

I adored everything Roald Dahl wrote when I was young and Matilda was a favorite of mine. Mr. Wormwood, not so much. He had an articulate, kind and thoughtful daughter who has a great love of reading and he did nothing to encourage her talents. He tore her down at every chance he could and tried to get her to become more like him. Which meant being a lying, stealing cheat. Luckily, Matilda was above her family and still managed to turn out to be an exceptional little girl.

Jack Torrence from The Shining by Stephen King

Jack certainly tried to be a good father but his battle with alcoholism made that nearly impossible for him. Once he did beat his addiction, he was a much better father – that is until he took his family for the season to work at the infamous Overlook Hotel. Yes, he might not have been in his right mind once he started working there but I think trying to kill your son puts you on the worst fathers list. Poor Danny, and he thought those twins were bad!

That’s the list for this week. Hope you enjoyed it – I had fun writing it. Did you participate this week? Be sure to show me your list! If you didn’t do this week’s challenge then let me know some fathers you think would’ve went onto either of these lists!